Be careful – Another « Bard Find » the latest scam
After spending the best part of the past of the past 20 years finding and restoring Austin Healey’s and early Porsche cars for clients I am still amazed by the number of people who call me up and say they’ve want me to make an appraisal on an exciting new Barn Find !
Is it the idea that ‘they have found the ‘ultimate pot of gold’ at the end of the rainbow or just the simple allure that the words create when they hear of a car that’s been sitting for x number of years generally in humid conditions.
Generally the type of clients that I have are middle aged, successful businessmen who have achieved a certain level of financial comfort who now want a new toy commensurate with their status in life or to fulfil a boyhood dream.
How can these people seriously be ‘duped’ into believing that they, and they alone, have found the ultimate prize ?
Of the 50 or so “Bard Finds” I have visited across Europe only one was actually in a barn. At least 30 were in ‘lock up garages’ a lot younger than the cars themselves and the remainder found in dodgy dealer warehouses where the provenance was more a case of where it was stolen rather than if it had a famous owner !
Of the 50 cars, most had little or generally no paperwork. The prices being asked were closer to the cost of a restored car than a seized engine rust tub, and of all of them only one seemed worth restoring.
So Ladies and Gentlemen, if you are reading this article please take heed, do your homework, if it seems too much of a good deal then it’s probably is…
Spend your hard earned money on a known car, from a reputable dealer, or at the very least ‘due diligence’ is the order of the day.
Happy Hunting
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